x
Itsuki gave a loud sneeze as the residents of Barusa Town slowly disappeared into their houses and the shops lights slowly turned off one by one. Their actions confused the teenager who shrugged and was about to make his way back to his apartment when he spotted Chiko from afar illuminated by the window lights.
“Where are you going?” he whispered to himself before looking at the groceries in his hand silently debating if he should follow her. As if on cue, his phone rang and looking at the caller ID, he saw it was Magic. “Good evening Mr. President,”
“Good evening Itsuki,” Magic’s static voice snapped.
The smile on his face faltered a bit. “Are you still angry with the situation Mr. President?”
“Yes I am.”
“I am sorry about it sir,”
Magic groaned. “Just forget it.”
“If it makes you feel any better sir, I saw Bae in Barusa Town today,”
“Did you follow her?”
“Um…no. No I didn’t.”
Hearing this, Magic groaned again. “Don’t blame yourself. I haven’t told you what your new mission is.”
“What’s the mission sir?”
“Patience is the key in this game we are playing but remember, you need to pay by my rules only understood?”
“Yes sir,”
“I don’t want the delicate fabric of we have created to unravel exposing our plan understand? Besides, you do know what a weaver does with knots found while weaving a rug right?”
Although Itsuki didn’t know the answer he said ‘Yes,’ and Magic abruptly ended the call leaving him looking more idiotic than before.
Meanwhile in the confines of her home, a pale skinned girl with dark eyes and shoulder-length bobbed hair was busy scribbling something on her reading table when someone opened the sliding door to her room.
“Yua, I told you to wear something warmer,” the young woman said.
“I know mother but winter is nearly over and the heater is working,” the girl replied turning to face the woman holding a huge laundry basket. “What is that?”
“These are your school uniforms. I decided to press them for you since you were busy with your studies,”
The girl sighed deeply and stood up in her pink pajamas that consist of a pink vest and shorts to collect the basket. “Thank you mother. I wanted to press them earlier today but I forgot,”
“I know,” the woman chuckled and gave a warm smile at her daughter before turning around. “Now don’t study deep into the night. We don’t want you to have eye bags in the morning. It’s unattractive for a girl your age.”
“I never have eye bags,” Yua replied and her mother shut the door and settled back on the chair contemplating if she should place the pressed and neatly folded school uniforms in her closet. It took a while but she made her decision, opened the closet and proceeded to put the uniforms inside organizing them based on their characteristics. By the time she was done, she stepped back and smiled at her handywork before looking at the clock resting on her study table for the time.
“9:30PM,” she muttered to herself. “I wasted most of my study time. It’s best I get some sleep.”
Her bed was cold as usual but she didn’t mind for it was always like this. Closing her eyes she sunk into a deep slumber and woke up to the sound of her alarm clock. Getting up, she followed her routine of studying for thirty minutes, going to the bathroom to do her morning activities combing her hair, adjusting her bangs and wearing her school uniform. She took one final look at herself in the mirror before walking out of her room to go downstairs for breakfast.
“Good morning Yua! How is my little bookworm?” her father chirped looking up from his newspaper with a smile.
Yua smiled back at him. “I am well. Thank you father.”
“You’d better eat up,” her mother put her breakfast on the table. “You don’t want to go to school on an empty stomach do you?”
“No mother,” she replied taking a seat and looking down at contents before her; miso soup with veggies and tofu. Without missing a beat, she said a quick prayer ate the food and thanked her parents before walking towards the door.
“Make sure you come back before 6:30PM,” her father called out. “The streets aren’t safe,”
“Don’t worry father. I will,” she replied wearing her shoes. “Goodbye,”
“Goodbye dear,” her mother replied.
The walk to school was uneventful for the young girl and she joined the students entering the school but on her way to her classroom, she spotted the strange girl staring at her with a frown on her face.
“What does she want?” she muttered loudly to herself as she entered the class and took her seat near the window. Where she unpacked her bag and started solving math equations until the teacher arrived. Once the bell rung for lunch time, Yua was about to leave when she received a message from an unknown number; ‘Have you noticed anything yet?’
Cocking an eyebrow, she deleted the message and went to the vending machines in the cafeteria to purchase some snacks and standing by the corner, she ate silently watching everyone walk in to eat or have a conversation with their friends. Then the strange girl walked in with the Leader of the Journalism Club and took their seats at the only empty table which was near the corner where she was standing.
“So I was wondering, we should rename the Journalism Club to ‘The Investigation and Supernatural Club,’. What do you think?” Bae asked.
Emma rolled her eyes. “Why do you want to change the name? I see nothing wrong with it.”
“Well…I thought after the incident we should open an investigation club to help anyone in need,” Bae responded. “And you have to admit that we make a good team and…”
As they talked, Yua folded her arms and looked away with disinterest while silently admiring what they did. In her opinion, no one would be stupid, brave, or smart enough to catch the killer who was a student in the school. What shocked her was the fact it was a student who was expelled a year ago that was the killer disguised as a dead student and she was targeting other students with low reputations or with no club or friends. Some said she did it as some twisted form of revenge for being expelled and the Guidance Counselor was her next target. Others said she was a psychopath who just loved killing since she never gave a reason why she did it. However, their actions also changed the school’s system for good; they changed the school’s air conditioners to simpler and less complicated versions, one of the empty rooms was turned into a surveillance room indicating the school now had surveillance cameras as every corner except the bathrooms and the girls’ and boys’ changing rooms which was good but one thing that annoyed her was the new rule: no one was allowed to walk around school alone. Everyone had to walk in groups of three or more forcing introverts like her to socialize and she hated it.
‘Any student found walking alone would be suspended,’ were the words of the Headmaster and Yua could remember herself rolling her eyes in annoyance. ‘It’s a good thing I haven’t been caught yet,’
Her instincts told her she was being watched and she turned to see the two girls staring at her; Emma’s eyes were half closed while Bea’s eyes was full of fear.
“Stop looking at me!” she muttered and she stomped back to the classroom where she stayed until school was over. The walk home was uneventful as usual with the coldness stinging into her arms despite the sleeves she was wearing.
‘And they said winter is almost over,’ she muttered as opened the gate leading to her house. Then she opened the front door.
"I am home," she announced.
“Welcome home Yua,” her parents chirped wrapping their arms around her and taking deep breaths before releasing her from their brief embrace. “How was school?”
She shrugged and walked in taking off her shoes. “Fine. I guess,”
“Quickly go upstairs and take a shower my little bookworm,” her father ordered. “Your mother will have dinner ready soon.”
“Okay father,” she replied and started taking off her shoes but as she walked up the stairs her phone rang and when she looked at it, she saw another message, ‘Have you noticed anything yet?’
“Who are you?” she muttered deleting the message and continued her journey up the stairs to her room. She opened the sliding door and shivered under the cold draft but tossed her bag on the bed and walked into the bathroom. There, the damp musty smell hit her and she wrinkled her nose in disgust.
‘I wish father would call someone to fix the plumbing,’ she thought taking off her clothes and stepping into the shower. ‘It would be nice to get rid of the awful smell.’
She turned on the shower, lathered herself with soap, and started showering. Once she was done, she dabbed herself with the towel and walked back to the room where her phone was waiting for her at the study table with a message; Have you noticed anything?
“Gosh what’s up with you?” she ignored the message, got dressed, went down the stairs for dinner. After dinner, she went back to her room to practice her math but for some reason, the symbols looked fuzzy and the paper looked old.
“Maybe I am just tired,” she thought shutting her book. “It’s best I get some sleep.”
Before she could sleep, her phone rang again with the message; ‘You still haven’t noticed anything yet?’
“Ugh! Go away!”
The next day she told her parents about it and they were worried.
“Yua, I think it's best you'd stay home,” her mother said.
The girl shook her head vigorously. “I can’t stay home. We have a test today and I can’t afford to miss it.”
The couple looked at each other with worry in their eyes but looked back at her with a warm smile.
“Okay if you say so,” her mother said. “Good luck in school dear.”
“Thank you mother,” she replied and walked out the door on her way to school.
“Oh my gosh! What’s that smell?” someone in the classroom asked as soon as she walked in.
“I don’t know!”
“Where is it coming from?”
Yua sniffed the air and frowned. “I don’t smell anything,”
Then the teacher arrived and her face twisted into a frown. “What’s that awful smell?”
“We don’t know,” a student said.
“We just walked in and…”
“I don’t want to hear it,” the teacher snapped as her high heels clicked towards the windows in front of her, “Open the windows now!”
Yua frowned at the order but did as she was told. The teacher heaved a sigh of relief and started distributing the test questions, “Remember this test counts as part of your midterm exams. You missed one week of school make sure you do well on it…”
Then her voice trailed off when she came to Yua’s desk and she made a disgusted face. Yua frowned back at her until the stern-faced woman placed her test paper on the desk and walked on to the next desk. Many students found the test unreasonably fair because of what they went through but studious students like Yua didn’t see it that way. She finished her test and waited until the teacher started to walk around and collect the test papers. This time, she stopped at Yua’s desk and wrinkled her nose at her.
“What is your problem,” the girl muttered watching the teacher walk away. Students started to whisper amongst themselves while looking at her but she ignored them and looked out the window.
The next few days in school were the same thing. The messages ‘Have you noticed anything?’ continued to plague her phone and the stench in the classroom grew stronger. Many students gagged at it and teachers who dreaded entering the classroom complained to the Headmaster about it. Their actions annoyed Yua who was convinced someone was playing a prank on the whole class but the other students had their own suspicions.
“Maybe it’s those two silly ‘YouTube pranksters’ we have in this school.” Yua muttered as she walked down the school’s hall. “I wish they’d just expel those fools already.”
As soon as she opened the door leading to the school to the path of the girl’s changing room, something fell and drenched her. Laughter echoed around and when she opened her eyes, she could make out the faint image of camera lights and a figure smiling at her.
“Speak of the devil,” she muttered. Then a high-pitched laugh caught her attention and she gritted her teeth. “And another devil,”
“Well, well, well, the little piggie finally decided to take a bath,” a girl with yellow hair, pink highlights and blue eyes announced. “How was it little piggie? Do you feel clean now?”
“I don’t stink!” Yua yelled.
“Oh yes you do? We could smell your stench from afar. Such a pity your family is too poor to provide a proper bathroom." she chuckled ruefully. "A family of pigs! How wonderful!”
The rest of the students laughed at her as Yua soaking wet dropped to the floor, her vision blurring as tears of embarrassment coated her eyes. Silently gritting her teeth, she looked back at the girl with hatred behind her dark eyes.
“I hate you Sara Yamaguchi,”
“Like I care. Hose her!” she ordered and a blast of water hit Yua in her face blinding her once more. The 'piggie' chants only intensified as the other students laughed and jeered. Suddenly it was replaced with the sound of pattering feet on the wet floor followed by shoving and yelping. Footsteps approached the girl but they took a step back in disgust.
“I don’t stink,” Yua whimpered looking at the person’s shoes. “I don’t stink,”
Alone under the showers in the girl’s changing room, Yua let the hot water wash over her but for some reason, she couldn’t feel the heat but she could feel the tears flowing down her cheeks as she recalled the incident. Despite Katsumi’s Nakayama’s promise to ‘deal with the perpetrators’ she knew it was promise made to make her feel better so she decided to go home for the day.
“I won’t be surprised to see writings on my desk,” she muttered in exhaustion. Tired of the empty feeling, she turned off the shower and stepped out. Once she was done wrapping herself with the towel, she walked briefly to her locker to dress up in her sportswear when her phone rang with the same message; ‘Have you noticed anything?’
Frustration slowly seeped in as she stared at the screen and with quick movements, she took the phone from its place and started typing: ‘If you must know yes I did notice something. I was soaked with water and called a ‘pig’ by my classmates! What do you have to say about that?’
It took only a few minutes for a reply to appear.‘That’s one of the features,’
The message angered her. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Your stench. It’s one of the features,’
‘You are starting to annoy me.’ Yua typed back.
‘Calm down,’ the reply was swift.‘What’s the color of your skin?’
She took a quick look at her hands before typing back, ‘It looks paler than usual,’
‘Do you feel cold?’
‘No. I don’t feel the cold.’
‘That makes sense,’ there was a pause, ‘Do feel the heat?’
‘I don’t feel it.’
‘What about your eyes? Did you notice anything about them?’
‘No. My eyes are fine,’
‘The charm is stronger than I thought,’
‘Charm?’ fear crept inside Yau as she blinked back at the screen.
‘Do you have any visible wounds or injuries on you?’
‘No. I don’t have visible injuries on me.’
‘Are your basic senses functioning?’
This made her pause before typing back. ‘Elaborate on that statement?’
‘Your sight, hearing, taste, smelling, feeling. Are they functioning well?’
‘Yes they are,’ she stared at her phone in confusion. “What is this? Is this some kind of prank or a digital AI simulator?” she muttered before typing a message; ‘Listen, if this is some kind of prank, I am not going to fall for it understand?’
There was no response for a while so she heaved a sigh of relief and pressed the button on her phone to turn it off. Mentally exhausted, she dropped her phone back in its place in the lockers and continued to dress up but the conversation lingered in her mind creating questions she couldn’t answer. This annoyed her. Sighing, she pulled her shirt over her head and stretched her hand to grab her bag but her phone buzzed with another message from the unknown number. 68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6e4zUkwGf
"Now what do you want?" she muttered picking up the phone one more time. Her eyes read the message and a chill went up her spine.
‘Congratulations. You are a Shintai Borei.’
‘What the hell?’ she thought nearly dropping her phone.
‘Don’t you want to know what it is?’
Yua shook her head and was even more shocked when the person replied back, ‘I’ll tell you anyway’
‘A Shinatai Borei are ghosts trapped in the body of human being that is slowly decomposing. They are bound to that body either by the use of a charm or by possession.' 68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7PDJQmJHA0
'Those who are aware of their predicament haunt people or loot graves for fresh containment once their present containment starts decomposing. 68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvsfsXAP4Z
'Those who are not aware stay like that until their bodies start to rot which is happening to you right now.’
Yau couldn’t believe what she was reading and felt like throwing up but quickly discovered her inability to do so. Then she remembered something; everything she ate tasted bland but she contributed it to her family’s current financial state. However, she refused to believe what she was reading. Furious, her fingers danced around the digital keyboard on the screen and words started to appear on the chat box.
‘You are lying!' 68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJMb49WTTea
'There is no way I am dead!' 68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wizZ9d1lS
'I am breathing air! I had dinner last night! I drank tea this morning! I was soaked with water this evening by my mates!' 68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwedxP6bEqn
'What do you have to say about that?’
The person typed back.‘That is just the first stage of decomposition which is pale skin, coldness of the body and more importantly body odor,’ 68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ72XNtNAlD9
‘Soon your digestive system will collapse and your taste buds will disappear followed by pooling of the blood near the skin. 68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qWgnjJ6ZK
'The only reason why you are able to see, talk, hear and walk is because of your spirit still inhabits the body thanks to the charm but it’s not going to last long'
‘You are lying!!’
‘I can prove it! What are you wearing right now?’
“What’s your problem? Are some kind of pervert?"
‘I know what you are thinking but that’s not what I am looking for,’ it said. ‘Are you wearing an accessory like jewels or earings?’
Yua looked down on her finger and stared at the ring. ‘Yes. My mother’s ring?’
‘What does it look like?’
‘Like any normal ring,’
‘Is there something engraved on it?’
‘No,’
‘Any jewels like diamonds, rubies…’
She looked at the ring again. ‘No. It’s plain.’
‘Take it off,’
‘No way! My mom told me not to take it off no matter what!’
‘I am not going to do anything bad to you I swear! Just do as I say and just take it off,’
After reading this, Yua dropped the phone back in its place one more time and moved away from the device. Placing a hand on her chest she could still hear her beating heart but was in for another shock when she couldn’t feel it then looked at her hands to see it was bluish grey.
‘This has to be a joke right?’ then she remembered the camera’s the school had installed and trashed her head around. ‘Maybe someone is playing a trick on me!’
Part of her wanted to leave the building because of how late it was but another part of her wanted to prove the culprit wrong. There was no way she was that thing it just described but she knew that every great mathematician who created a formula or theory had to defend it. With that in mind, she took a deep breath, walked towards the mirror and started at her reflection before slowly grabbing the ring and giving it a twist to loosen it. Then with a giant tug, she pulled it out.
Yua heard the sound something dropping to the ground with a huge thud followed by the sound of clinking metal. Looking down, she saw the ring and near it was a body of a young girl lying on the floor with her eyes wide open. Under the faint blue glow, she took a closer look at the girl and her lips trembled.
“Th…that’s me!” she gasped covering her mouth in horror. “That girl is me! How is this possible?”
Then she finally looked at the mirror and gasped Standing before her was a girl with white hair, white skin, white eyes with no pupils and bathed in a bluish glow wearing her summer time pajamas but there was a gaping hole inside her torso oozing a black substance.
“What is this?” she asked touching the substance.
“Yua? Yua where are you?”
It was her mother. The spirit gasped and looked around for a place to hide so she hid in one of the cubicles and covered her mouth while holding back her tears. The frantic footsteps grew louder and a shadow loomed past her hiding place making Yua wonder if someone else was looking for her but when she heard her mother’s voice, she sighed of relief.
Then it hit her. Her mother was the one who gave the ring a few weeks ago before the incident in school. What would she say when she found her body lying there and more importantly, who is she? With these questions running through her mind, she took a peek through the curtains in fear and watched as the young woman walked around.
“Where are you my little bookworm? Let’s go home! Your dinner is getting col…” Then she turned around and spotted the shiny object glistening in from a distance. Eyes wide in shock, she ran towards direction of where the object was and saw the body. Through the cracks of the shower curtain, Yua watched her mother reaction and was shocked when she picked up the ring and growled then gave an ear piercing screech that shook the building.
Inside the library, Emma was about to open the school’s archive when she heard the sound. The dim lights around the school flickered so she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. A few minutes later they opened them to reveal a pair of yellow predatory eyes and looking behind her she immediately found where the spirit was hiding. Shadowy figures of long claws followed her as she walked down the hall to the girl’s changing room and she wasn’t surprised to see Yua’s body nor the fact there were long claw-like marks on the mirror. Then she walked towards the third shower stall and opened the curtain exposing the trembling spirit.
“Alright lets go,” she said gesturing for her to stand up. “The portal to the underworld will close any minute,”
Trembling, Yua hesitated frustrating Emma who grabbed her by the hand and dragged her out of the stall and out of the building.
“If we hurry, I can come back to give you a proper burial,” Emma said as they walked through the path outside the school’s building that lead to the school’s gate. “But that’s not the only reason why we need to hurry,”
Her cryptic words confused Yua who slowly connected the dots. The suspicious looks, the texts, the explainations, and the revelation. It all came from her! Angry, she yanked her hand away from Emma’s grip and took a step back.
Emma turned around and gave her an annoyed look. “Now what do you want?”
“It was you,” Yua gasped. “You were the one who sent me those messages!”
Under her hooded jacket, Emma cocked an eyebrow put her hands in her pockets. “What messages?”
“You have been sending me those creepy messages about me being dead, me being a ghost, me decomposing….” The spirit grabbed her hair and dug her fingers into her scalp. “What’s happening to me?”
Emma's face softened when she heard that and she raised her hands to show she wasn’t armed. “Alright take it easy. It’s going to be okay.”
“No! No its not!” she screamed. “I can’t believe that I am dead! I am not dead!” then she gasped. "What about my parents? Are they dead too? Do they know that I am dead?"
“Calm down. We don't know that yet!" she replied. "Let's try and jog your memory. What happened to you?"
“I don’t know!” she started to sob trying to cry but no tears fell from her eyes, “I don’t know,”
Suddenly, a deep growl echoed through the air halting the scene and a strong wind blew away Emma’s hoodie revealing her long black hair. It grew louder and louder putting all of them on edge and as Emma looked around, she could sense the presence of the soul eater but where was it?"
“There you are Yua!” the deep distorted voice screeched above them. They looked up to see a towering figure with huge eyes a long neck and wearing a wide grin as a long tongue protruded from it’s mouth. “Let’s go home,”
Yua screamed but Emma quickly threw a hand grenade into its open mouth. The explosion caused it scream and sway its long neck from side to side while the mortal and spirit fled from its gaze. As they ran, Yua discovered she could run faster than Emma who didn’t seem to mind because her main goal was to make sure the spirit crossed over to the other side without being eaten. The soul eater was getting closer with its mouth wide open but Emma threw another hand grenade into it and picked up the pace.
“I have to go home!” Yua said.
“No!” Emma gasped as they turned round the corner. “We have to get you to the nearest tori gate!”
“What?”
Suddenly, Emma tripped and fell to the ground and upon looking at her leg, she saw a dark claw-like hand had grabbed her leg tight and was slowly dragging her into the darkness below. Yua heard the noise, turned back and made an attempt to help her but Emma waved her away.
“Keep moving!” she yelled. “Follow the light at the distance! It will lead you to the nearest tori gate! I’ll meet you there! Now go!”
Yua was about to object but the screeching and the soul eater's mocking laugh was drawing near so she ran. Emma watched her leave and started to struggle to free herself but more arms appeared from the darkness. One grabbed her right hand so she spread her left palm and a knife and a shiny metal blade materialized in her hand which she used to slashed at the arms but more emerged regaining their hold on her. Realizing she might be fighting a losing battle, she closed her eyes and felt her spirit power charge through her veins in an attempt to cause an explosion to destroy them.
Then a huge blast of golden light vanquished hands with a screech and the dark pit below her had disappeared making her fall painfully to the ground. As she groaned at the slight discomfort coming behind her, someone stretched out her hand for assistance and she looked up to see Bae.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
Emma grabbed her hand and stood up. “I’m fine. Thanks for the help Bae Tatsumania.”
Wearing a loose fitting robe adorned with a golden hue, with black loose fitting trousers tied to the waist with a cloth belt Bae looked completely different from her the way she looked in her school uniform and nightgown. Her head was tied to two twin buns with a red ribbon which complemented the red staff in her hands but what didn’t change was warm smile on her face and the optimistic sparkle in her eyes.
“What are you doing here?” she asked thumping the butt of the staff on the floor.
“I should be asking you that question. Have you been following me?” Emma replied.
“What? No I haven’t!” she protested. “I felt a dark aura and came here to investigate,”
Emma didn’t believe her words and looked towards the direction of the light the tori gate was emitting from the forest. “I dread going back there,”
“Hmm?”
“Never mind,”
Then they heard a loud screech and turned towards the direction of the sound to see the monster chasing her from before. Bae spun her staff and posed for battle while Emma clapped her hands together and long spear appeared in her hands. Without missing a beat, they attacked the creature who shrieked with every blow it received. Angry at the sudden attack the creature’s neck swayed and it used its hand to swipe at them but Bae blocks the attack while Emma stabbed it’s hand with the spear causing it to scream and emit white orbs leaving its long neck open for attack. Doing a hand gesture, Bae bowed her head and huge prayer beads appeared striking the creature on the head until it was stunned giving Emma the opportunity to stab the sharp end of spear on the ground creating numerous spear blades to pierce the creature from below. The creature wailed and collapsed to the ground while oozing black goo from its injuries.
The two girls sighed with relief, looked at each other then back at the light from the horizon.
“What’s that?” Bae asked.
“That light is coming from the tori gate in the forest,” Emma replied. “It opens the portal for spirits to cross to the afterlife.”
Hearing this, Bae slowly understood what was happening and looked back at the black puddle where soul-eater was killed. “It makes sense why this monster suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It devours spirits.”
“So you know what that creature is?” Emma said.
“Yeah,” Bae brought her hands together and separated them creating a scroll bathed in a yellow light. It opened automatically showing a terrifying illustration of the monster. “They are called the ‘Tamashibochi’; monsters that draw out essence of a person’s soul through touch leaving behind an empty husk. These creatures hunt in pairs with other creatures to capture their prey.”
Emma pondered on this piece of information then recalled Yua’s accusation and narrowed her eyes at Bae. “This means you were the one who sent those messages to Yua?”
“Umm…yeah. That was careless of me.” the girl twiddled her fingers and looked down in shame. “But I didn’t mean to scare her! I was going to come and bless her to the afterlife myself when this happened! I didn’t know those creatures were after her.”
“But you learned those creatures eat spirits yet you let that happen,” Emma scolded.
Bae humbly apologized and Emma sighed.
“I was going to bring her to the tori gate to send her off to the afterlife when the soul-eater arrived,” Emma explained. “We need to find her,”
Bae nodded. “I’ll check in her house. You can check at the location of the tori gate!”
Before Emma could object, Bae sat on her staff and flew off to Yua’s address leaving her alone. A lump formed in Emma throat when she looked back at the light and started to walk towards the forest.
Meanwhile, Yua finally reached the confines of her home but it looked different than she remembered. It was dark with the walls were covered with black mold cobwebs which stretched to the curtains. Everywhere was caked with dust and she as she took a step forward, she could hear creaking of the wooden floors and feel it’s wet dampness under her bare feet. She could also hear the sound of water running, the lingering stench of rotten meat and hear the tiny insects buzzing around her.
Then feet came in contact with something sticky but she refused to look down to see what it was. Instead, she continued on her journey to her parents’ bedroom where the sound of flying insects and the foul smell was coming from. Her hand lingered on the door as her body tensed up but she gulped grabbed the handle and opened the door. Flies buzzed past her and Yua covered her mouth in shock at the sight of her parent’s bodies; grey and rotting lying on the bed with their chests cut open and their eyes wide in terror. Saddened by the horror she just witnessed, she shut the door and slowly walked to her room in tears but her bed was empty with a huge patch of blood in the middle.
A noise outside drew her attention but she wasn’t afraid. Shutting the door, she walked out of the house expecting to see the monster who wanted to devour her but was shocked to see Bae standing at her porch all decked out in her attire.
“Where you the one who sent those messages?” she asked somberly.
Bae nodded and looked past the spirit for anything amiss but the smell gave it away. “Your family…”
“Did you know what happened to them?” she asked again this time tears choking her words.
Bae shook her head, Yua bowed hers, covered her face and sobbed loudly. Taking a few steps, Bae placed a hand on the spirit’s shoulder to comfort her.
“I am sorry,” she said. “But don’t despair; your parents might be waiting for you at the other side.”
Hearing this, Yua looked up at her with hope in her eyes, “Really?”
Bae smiled back. “Do you want to see them?”
She hesitated a bit before nodding. Bae stretched out her hand Yua took it and stepped down from the house's threshhold. The young put her hands together and said a prayer then golden light slowly wrapped around the girl levitating her from the ground. Slowly it transformed her into a small golden orb that quickly ascended to the night sky.
After this happened, Bae sighed and turned around to see Emma who witnessed the events with a somber look on her face but nothing was said. Another golden glow appeared from the east and when they turned towards its direction, they saw it was coming from the sun. Slowly, the beam of silver light emerging from the tori gate slowly disappeared behind them.
“That’s it then,” Emma said in a sad tone.
“Yeah,” Bae nodded and transformed her clothes back to her nightgown. “What should we do with the body? Should we bury it?”
“No,” Emma finally looked at her. “Let's call the police.”
The sun had risen by the time the students had arrived to school and as usual, Itsuki was standing near by the entrance greeting everyone who walked into the school with a happy smile on his face.
“Welcome everyone!” He chimed.
“I hope you have a splendid day in school,” Ruri said handing the fliers for the upcoming events. “Let’s work hard to make sure this event is a success okay?”
The P.E Teacher in charge hummed with disinterest at the activity until Emma appeared wearing the clothes she wore yesterday; a hooded jacket with white stripes on the side, shorts showing her legs and a pair of black sneakers. The teacher was about to reprimand her choice of clothing but stopped short when he saw the item in her hands; a white flower in a small vase.
“Emma?” Ruri called out and when she was ignored so she turned her attention to Itsuki, “What’s going on?”
He couldn’t say a word. The two students followed her to the second floor and watched her entering Class 2-2. From the entrance, they could see Emma placing the white flower on the third desk near the window and walking out of the classroom with a somber look on her face.
Itsuki immediately recognized the desk and turned pale as she walked out of the room. “Emma? Where is Yua?”
She stopped in her tracks and looked down. “What do you think happened to her?”
Hearing this, Ruri took another look at the flower on the desk and burst into tears while Emma continued to walk away.
“Tell Magic I went to see my therapist,”
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